"It must have been Sir teor who found the Aurora Orb with Eyes, right?!"
Lucas's excited voice broke through the chatter of the knights.
"None of the others who returned ahead of you managed to locate it! Everyone assud Sir teor found it—how else would we have all made it out alive?"
"...What?"
teor finally spoke, his lips parting for the first ti. His voice carried a faint trace of doubt, and after a brief pause, he spoke again.
"You're saying no one else found the Aurora Orb with Eyes?"
Evan nodded in response.
"That's right. We can talk about the details later, but no one among us managed to locate the orb. Naturally, we thought you and Crescent found it since you were the last to return."
"...I see."
teor’s reply was slow, his voice lingering with a mix of realization and unease.
I kept quiet, unsure of what to say.
The orb I had seen in the Ice Castle—it had to be the Aurora Orb with Eyes, didn’t it?
teor finding the orb seed like the logical explanation, but he hadn’t confird it himself, leaving room for uncertainty.
I hadn’t been with him for a good portion of the ti inside the Ice Castle. What had happened to him there?
The image of the mighty Ice Castle, reduced to ruins, was still vivid in my mind.
"...I did see that ridiculous orb, though."
"!"
"I knew it!"
"teor, you saved us!"
The mont teor acknowledged seeing the orb, the knights erupted in cheers. Relief washed over as well.
‘So it really was the Aurora Orb with Eyes.’
But why did I still feel uneasy?
Sothing about teor’s deanor struck as odd.
He hadn’t spared a glance since we returned, and an unsettling feeling nagged at , as though sothing was out of place.
Just then, a familiar notification rang out:
"What?!"
The words escaped louder than I intended.
Every knight’s gaze snapped toward , including teor’s.
I quickly shook my head.
"No, no, it’s nothing! Just… never mind."
Thankfully, the knights lost interest quickly and turned their attention elsewhere.
I blinked in disbelief, recalling the monts in the Demon Realm when teor had held my hand and embraced . With everything that had happened since, I had completely forgotten.
But why was it being brought up now?
Before I could ponder further, another system ssage appeared:
‘Ah…’
That made sense.
Gabriella’s insight crystallized the unease I had been feeling.
If no one found the Aurora Orb with Eyes and the exit had opened before teor could retrieve it, then how had we escaped?
teor must have been dwelling on the sa question.
The exit from the Demon Realm could only open in two ways: fulfilling the demon’s escape condition or killing the demon outright.
If no one had fulfilled Duke Winterly’s condition, teor must have realized sothing was amiss.
Lucas interrupted my thoughts with another loud exclamation:
"It could only have been Sir teor! I knew it!"
"Thank you, teor. We owe our lives to you."
Alruin, teary-eyed, patted teor on the shoulder, his gratitude mirrored by the other knights.
Even Evan chid in, his tone unusually heartfelt:
"You have no idea how close we ca to freezing to death in that godforsaken place. Fighting endless waves of ice monsters… we thought we were done for! And then the exit opened, like a miracle!"
For once, even Edgar seed genuine as he muttered:
"Thanks, teor. Really."
Edgar’s teeth were still chattering from the cold.
teor, however, barely acknowledged the gratitude, instead repeating his earlier question:
"Are you absolutely sure no one found the Aurora Orb with Eyes?"
His sharp gaze flickered, pressing for confirmation.
It was clear now—he was questioning what had caused the Demon Realm’s exit to open.
Evan, montarily deflated, sighed.
"Yeah, I an… we tried our best, but we just couldn’t find it. It’s not like we had a map. I fought until my sword arm gave out, but there wasn’t a single orb—or even a round stone—in sight. Sorry, teor, I guess I’m just useless."
"No, no, that’s not what I ant."
teor, uncharacteristically flustered, tried to reassure him.
Lucas chid in with a sheepish tone:
"Sorry, Sir teor. I wanted to help you find it, but I’m still too inexperienced. If no one but you could locate the orb, it’s understandable you’d be disappointed."
"What? No, that’s not it at all."
teor’s denial was firm, though his embarrassnt was evident.
Alruin chuckled softly, defusing the tension.
"We all know you didn’t an it that way, teor. Let’s head back to the temple for now. Everyone’s frozen and exhausted—we can talk more once we’ve rested."
"Understood."
teor nodded in agreent, and the knights began their journey back.
I followed a little behind, trying to avoid teor, guilt gnawing at .
But it was futile—he and I naturally fell to the rear of the group.
"Crescent."
His voice called out to .
I turned, attempting to appear calm and unaffected.
"Yeah?"
Our eyes t, and a twinge of discomfort settled in.
I knew he would ask about the Demon Realm, and I would have to lie again.
"You seem fine now. Your chest was freezing earlier."
"Ah, that?"
I chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, Winterly was a total cheapskate. He made work in the kitchen. At least there was an oven, though, so it wasn’t all bad."
"Really? That’s… an odd demon."
"Tell about it. But what about you? What happened in the Ice Castle? That place looked so indestructible, but it collapsed completely. I was stunned! That huge sphere I saw—was that the Aurora Orb?"
"Yeah. The orb caused the castle to collapse. It launched snow bombs throughout the entire structure."
"Snow bombs?"
What kind of orb had the power to destroy a castle that massive?
The sheer scale and intensity of the attack boggled my mind.
And then, the realization struck .
"You… you could’ve died in there, couldn’t you?"
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